<a href="http://news.sjvc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/VT-Acred-Photo-RESIZED.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-1450" style="margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; border: black 1px solid;" src="http://news.sjvc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/VT-Acred-Photo-RESIZED-300x200.jpg" alt="SJVC Veterinary Technician Students " width="240" height="160" /></a>

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Fresno Veterinary Technology (VT) faculty and staff, the VT program has received official accreditation status. This is a huge achievement for the campus and speaks volumes about SJVC’s commitment to offering quality educational opportunities to the local community.

The recent provisional accreditation adds quite a bit of value to the VT program an especially its students. The accreditation, effective January 18th, 2013, means students are eligible to take their Registered Veterinary Technician Exam (RVTE) straightaway upon completion of the 15-month program. In the case of a non-accredited school, graduates are required to serve 4,400 hours in the field before being permitted to take the exam.

Taking the test immediately after completing the course allows graduates’ careers to progress in a more advanced manner. The California Veterinary Medical Board 2012 statistics state that students who take their RVTE soon after graduating have a pass rate of 80% while students with a prolonged time lapse or repeated exam dates have a 50% rate of passing.

“This accreditation shows our students, industry professionals, and community what we have always known about the quality of our VT program,” says the VT program director, Erin Miracle.

This new status as an accredited program embodies the great potential of the VT program here at SJVC. Corporate Director of Program Compliance, Greg Osborn says, “This accreditation is both a reflection and endorsement of the quality of our overall VT program, staff and students”.

Out of the 30 schools who have applied for VT accreditation over the past year, only 17 of them were granted approval-including SJVC- making SJVC’s VT program one of only 200 accredited VT programs across the entire nation.

“Our students are bright, determined and fiercely proud of our program… and our instructors instill in our students the qualities that they need to be productive, independent technicians in a field we all care about very deeply,” says Miracle.

As one of the few outstanding VT programs available, SJVC’s VT program equips all of its students with the tools to do their very best in their future career. They are educated on all the ins-and-outs of animal patient care—from surgical procedures and testing to proper communication with pet owners. By completion of the program, students have evolved from pupils to soon-to-be-professionals with an immense passion for their very bright futures.